


these hands are meant to hold

by ohmygodwhy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, break ups, honestly im pretty neutral about the ship, i rlly don't mean to bag on will, this took a turn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 20:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4114501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmygodwhy/pseuds/ohmygodwhy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The break-up hit Nico pretty hard.” Piper's voice is softer now, “He’s doing a lot better,”</p><p>Jason looks over to the bed where Nico is sitting, bent over his book. His Italian side comes out a lot when he studies- he’s whispering the words under his breath, jerking his free hand this way and that to annunciate them, and tapping his pencil against the edge of the book with the other. He looks not exactly relaxed, but at home. He looks like he fits into Jason and Piper’s little apartment perfectly, like he belongs there, and the thought makes Jason unreasonably happy.</p><p>“Yeah,” he agrees, “He is.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	these hands are meant to hold

**Author's Note:**

> well this was a rollercoaster to write

 

 

Things don’t work out with Will.

And really, Nico shouldn’t be surprised- it’s a miracle there was ever any ‘with Will’ to begin with. He should’ve seen it coming- thought he _had_ seen it coming too many times to count, thought this little charade would come to an end sooner rather than later, and it had taken him months to relax enough to let his worries go. Maybe that was his downfall; maybe letting too much of himself show had snapped Will out of whatever daze he had been in and scared him off- Nico knew he didn’t exactly have the greatest personality to begin with.

Whatever the reason, things don’t work out. Nico shouldn’t be surprised, but he sort of is, because—

It had been awkward at first, yeah, awkward and clumsy and they had both danced around each other until Will gathered up the courage to ask him if he could, word for word “hold your hand- y’know, if you want to” at the campfire one night. And gods, had Nico wanted to. And so he had, and the tingle that went up his arm the first time he’d touched him back on the battlefield was back full force and he could see Jason giving him a thumbs up from the corner of his eye and he was sure his hand wasn’t all that warm but Will’s was, and for the first time in a long time he let himself smile the kind of smile that he knew probably made him look ridiculous, and he found he could care less about the other campers sitting around them. It had been awkward, but the awkwardness had faded, giving way to a precarious uncharted territory. It had been awkward, but they had gotten better, they’d warmed up to each other (Nico possibly quite literally).

Will was gentle, yes, warm and gentle and verging almost on the edge of self-deprecation. He threw himself into his healing- even though he often complained that it was the only thing he could do, that he wished he were better at archery or music or other things children of Apollo were supposed to be good at. Nico thought it was amazing, though- the way Will could heal, the way he could bring life to things and give hope to people. He was the opposite of himself, Nico supposed.

Will was gentle, yes. He treated Nico like glass, like something delicate. And Nico was okay with that at first, because it meant that someone _cared._ He even thought the ‘doctor’s orders’ thing was kinda cute- and would deny it to his dying breath. Will treated him like there was something wrong with him sometimes, like he had to be fixed. And Nico _knew_ that, he’d spent _years_ feeding that to himself, and if someone who cared about him thought so too, then he supposed it was true. Nico didn’t tell him about Tartarus, didn’t tell him about his nightmares (‘it’s a demigod thing, we all get them’, Will had said when he’d first tried to bring them up, and that was that), because Will was gentle and Will was warm and Nico didn’t want to mess up one of the only good things in his life.

It had been awkward at first, and rocky in the middle; they fought too little and they fought too much sometimes; they didn’t talk much about the things that _mattered,_ because Will was concerned and busy enough as it was, and Nico wasn’t the type to bring these things up. But they had been happy. Nico felt like he belonged, even though it was strained and uncomfortable sometimes. Will was kind and warm and a little annoying and they were happy.

So of course, Nico should’ve seen it coming. Because good things can only last so long, and good things don’t last very long around him- because maybe Will couldn’t fix him the way he thought he could or maybe he had gotten tired of him or maybe he realized that children of Hades don’t make the best company.

Things don’t work out with Will. And Nico shouldn’t be surprised, and he isn’t, not really. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t _hurt_ a little- a _lot,_ actually. That doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to lock himself in his cabin and ignore the world for a few years, right?

 

And so that’s how Jason finds him later: curtains drawn, door shut tight, not seen by anyone for too many days before he comes to check up on him. Nico hears the faint knock on his door from underneath his mountain of blankets and self-pity.

“Go away,” he calls.

“Nico? It’s me,”

“Don’t come in.” He warns.

So of course, “I’m coming in.”

He hears the door of the cabin open and shut, but makes no move to acknowledge his unwanted visitor. In fact, he just burrows further into his pillow and wishes he remembered to lock the door.

“Go away, Jason,”

He feels the mattress shift as Jason sits down on the edge of the bed.

“What happened?”

Nico pauses, shooting Jason a disbelieving look before he remembers that there’s a blanket over his head, and Jason probably can’t see through it.

“Didn’t you hear?”

“Hear what?” his voice is full of concern and _care_ and that’s really the last thing he needs right now.

It strikes Nico as odd that the other hasn’t heard anything, but he’s kind of grateful that it’s not the camp’s new favorite gossip topic yet- it had been bad enough when they’d actually come out as a couple. There’s a very long pause, before Nico sighs, shaking his head free and glancing momentarily at the son of Jupiter. He bites the inside of his mouth- a nasty habit he’d picked up whenever he was nervous- and lets his head fall onto the pillow.

His words are muffled. “Will… broke it off with me,”

The pillow obviously fulfills its purpose, and Jason just tilts his head a bit to the side. “Will? Will what?”

Nico huffs, lifting his head to glare at him- albeit, halfheartedly. “Will _broke up with me_ , Jason.”

Jason’s eyes go wide- concern and care again, Nico notes- and there’s at least thirty seconds of a silent staring contest.

“Oh,” he says eventually.

Nico snorts, dropping his gaze to stare at the lines on his pillow. “Yeah, _oh.”_

More uncomfortable silence, and Nico rolls over to face the wall. He’s had enough painful conversation for the day. He hears an intake of breath, like Jason’s preparing to say something, but there’s at least twenty more seconds until he actually does.

“Hey, you were too good for him anyway,”

Nico snorts again, holding a hand up too shoo him away. “Just go, leave me to my misery.”

He doesn’t have to look to see the unimpressed raise of Jason’s eyebrows.

“Did he say why?” he asks- carefully, very carefully, and there are countless places Nico would rather be than here having this conversation, but he knows he’ll have to have it eventually. So he shrugs, wiggling further into his mountain.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Again, he doesn’t have to look to see the patience on Jason’s face. A year or two of coming to terms with the idea of being his friend has given him time to memorize his expressions and what they mean and the silences they’re used in. He knows the idiot’ll wait here all day if he has to. Nico hates it when he does that. And maybe sort of doesn’t.

He sighs for probably the millionth time that day, wiping at his eyes even though they’re dry now (he has the right to be a little weepy about the whole thing), and shifts to stare up at the ceiling.

“He tried to pull the whole ‘ _it’s not you it’s me_ ,’ crap,” he mutters, his words more bitter than he meant them to be. “And I think… I think it was the other way around, y’know? It was _me_ , not him.”

Jason looks like he wants to say something, but waits for him to continue.

“And I just…” he draws his eyebrows together in frustration, “I don’t know. I mean I know I did _something_ wrong, but he wouldn’t tell me _what._ And I- I tried not to; I tried _so hard_ not to mess up. But I don’t think he ever _listened_ when we talked, and he was disappointed when I didn’t really wanna… you know… _do_ anything,” he scowls at the way his cheeks heat up from barely thinking about it- but hey, growing up in the 30’s really leaves it’s mark- and it takes one look to know that yes, Jason _does_ know. “He said he wasn’t, but I could _tell_.”

He realizes with a start that he’s straight up glaring at the ceiling like it’s the cause of all his problems. “And I guess… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Son of Hades and all; guess he figured out I wasn’t what he thought I was.”

“What did he think you were?” there’s an underlying protectiveness in Jason’s voice and he feels his anger evaporate.

“I don’t know. Not _this_? I don’t know what he thought he saw, but I obviously didn’t have it. I’m surprised he even wanted to try anything in the first place.”

“Nico, don’t do this to yourself,” Jason says slowly, “You didn’t do _anything_ wrong.”

Nico almost wants to laugh at that, but his tone is so sincere that it dies in his throat. Instead he sits up so quickly it makes his head spin- when had he last eaten again?- and steadies himself.

“Then _why_ did he-?“ he cuts himself off, scowling at nothing.

“I don’t know why.” Jason says simply, honestly, and Nico risks a glance up and meets his eyes. “Honestly, I think he’s an idiot for it. You’re too good for him- I meant that.”

“But _he’s_ too good for-“

 _“He,”_ Jason cuts him off again, “wouldn’t know ‘good’ if it shadow traveled into him- which you did do a few times.”

“Yeah, and then he told me off like a mother,”

“See? Too good for him,”

Nico manages something akin to a smile, plus a roll of his eyes, “You suck at this,”

Jason smiles back, seemingly very pleased with the insult.

“Thanks, I try.”

More silence settles over the room, not as tense as before. Nico wonders vaguely what time it is- and what day it is.

Almost as if reading his thoughts, Jason glances down at a watch Nico didn’t know he owned. “It’s Thursday, about six. When’s the last time you ate something decent?”

And _that_ throws Nico in for a loop because the last time he checked it was also Thursday, and he’s about to ask if it’s six in the morning or six in the evening when he realizes that’s probably a dangerous thing to ask. So, true to his nature, he falls back into bed.

“M’ not hungry,”

“Nico, come one,”

“I’m not _hungry.”_

A pause. “Don’t make me get Hazel in here.”

 _“Please,_ she’s in New Rome right now,”

“I’ll IM her if I have to,”

Nico turns his head to glare at Jason. “You wouldn’t dare,”

And Jason stares back, “Oh, but I would.”

Nico eventually lets up, closing his eyes. “Jason, please. I don’t wanna go out _there,”_

 _Because Will is certain to be there_ , is what he doesn’t add.

Jason hums in understanding. The bed shifts again when he stands up, and it’s suddenly a lot less warm. Nico isn’t sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

“Then I’ll pick up something for you and bring it back here,”

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Not sure. But you need the food.”

“Do I?”

“You do,”

Nico grunts in vague protest and Jason pats his head.

“I’ll be back in a few.”

He stops in the doorway. “And Nico?”

“Hm?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The door shuts. Nico sure as hell feels like he did.

 

Things don’t work out with Will. And the thing about building your life around someone, about letting your guard down when you’re probably one of the most guarded people to walk the earth, is once that person is gone, you feel like a fool. You feel like you’ve been played.

And the thing about Nico, is he’s already gone through this whole thing once before. It was more like hero worship really, and his feelings were never acknowledged, but they were real. But this; this time they _were_ acknowledged, they were even dare he say it, reciprocated. And then they weren’t anymore. 

If he didn’t do anything wrong, he’s not sure who did.

 

Jason doesn’t give him time to dwell on it. Really, none of his friends do. And he’s honestly surprised at how far he’s been pulled and knit into their little codependent support system without really noticing it. It feels nice.

Hazel and Frank drop in for week or two, and Nico spends a solid six hours discussing and playing the timeless game of Mythomagic with Camp Jupiter’s newest praetor. They try to teach Hazel to play, but she seems content with just watching them- they both apparently ‘take the game too seriously’ but hey, it’d be wrong not to.

Percy and Annabeth surprise everyone by taking a week off from college in New Rome and tagging along (though Nico suspects a large part of it is due to Jason whining about how ‘heartbroken’ Nico was via Iris Message), and for once, Nico is happy to have their company. He is _very_ pleased to find that all the electric shocks in Percy’s touch and guilt clenching in his chest whenever he sees the two of them so happy together are gone. They’re just _people_ now, just his friends (it’s funny, over a year later and he still finds it hard to associate that word with himself).

They manage to drag him back to Camp Jupiter with them. Honestly, he gives in easily; some time away might help.

And of course, Reyna is overworking herself to the point of exhaustion. Although he feels a bit guilty about it, he manages to get her to take a break by playing the ‘just got brutally dumped’ card.

“Are you going to stay here for a while, then?” she asks. They’re sitting on the roof of Pluto’s shrine, away from the public eye. It’s a pretty good place to talk, all things considered.

“Maybe. If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Too much trouble? Gods, Nico, you helped save this camp, you basically have a seat of honor reserved for you in the Senate House- or dining hall, whichever you prefer. 

Nico has to smile. “Thanks, Reyna,”

 

 -:-

 

Jason drops in at Camp Jupiter a few weeks later and Nico is gone. Nowhere to be found. Not in the dining hall, not in the barracks, not in the fields. Just… gone. He’d figured it would happen eventually, no matter how much he liked to tell himself he didn’t. People cope with these things in different ways; Nico copes with everything in a very specific way: he runs.  Jason thought he had ( _they_ had, he reminded himself, _all_ of them, he couldn’t take all the credit) gotten him to stop running.

He checks and double checks and triple checks the surrounding area before heading to check Pluto’s shrine- which in retrospect, he should’ve done first, because there’s something taped to the wall just above the door 

On closer inspection, he finds that it’s a note. He peels it off carefully and holds it up to see the hurriedly written messy scrawl that is Nico’s handwriting.

 

_Jason,_

_I assume you’re the one reading this. Everything’s fine, don’t worry. I just got called in by my father- official Underworld business and all. Probably be back in a few days, a week tops._

_-Nico_

 

Short, sweet, and to the point.

Well, Jason _had_ told him to ‘leave a note or something’ the next time he decided to run off (though he had been half joking and he’d dared to hope there wouldn’t be a need for it anyway). He feels his stomach drop in shame a little for jumping to conclusions so fast.

But he can’t help be a little disappointed- and a little angry when Nico, true to his messy note, just drops in next to him a few days later. If it had been hot soup he was eating, Jason would’ve incapacitated himself for a couple of days. Luckily for him- and his clothes- it’s just an apple he’d taken from the kitchens.

And Nico has the nerve to look amused about it.

“I thought you’d gotten used to the whole ‘appearing from the shadows’ thing,”

“I thought I had too,” Jason agrees, before he remembers he’s supposed to be mad, “And where have _you_ been?”

Nico raises an eyebrow, “Exactly where I told you I’d be? Wait, you did get the note right?”

“Yeah, I _got the note._ Just the note. No goodbye or anything.”

Nico looks at him in surprise. “It was short notice- you weren’t gonna be here for another hour at least. And you _did_ tell me to leave a note, remember?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t really _mean_ it.”

Nico blinks. “So… you _don’t_ want me to leave a note next time?”

“I want you to _tell_ me next time,”

Nico tilts his head. “But I did tell you,”

“Face to face, I mean,”

“Why?”

“Because I… because.” Jason states, very maturely.

Nico’s eyes narrow in something like suspicion, “Do you not trust me to come back or something?”

“No that’s not- that’s not it.” Jason says hurriedly, searching for a good excuse, “Just, what if something happens to you and no one knows where you are?”

“I’ve handled stuff like that for four years, Jason,” Nico crosses his arms defensively, “I can defend myself.”

Jason sighs- not a good excuse, “I know,”

“Then what’s your problem? Will never really care when I…” Nico’s face falls when he catches himself, looking all sorts of ashamed and guilty, and Jason can’t really blame him. He also can’t really stay mad at him.

So, he lets it go, leaning back and taking another bite of his apple. (Before he remembers that it’s now covered in dirt because of Nico’s little surprise visit. He spits it out and hopes Nico somehow missed the whole thing- the kid’s not saying anything, but Jason can see the ghost of a smile on his lips).

“If you’re gonna leave another note,” he says, once he’s regained his dignity, “make it detailed.”

Nico glances at him, the skeptical look on his face not masking the amusement in his eyes, “You want me to draw you some interactive pictures while I’m at it?”

Jason shrugs. “Sure, go all out.”

Nico smiles- the first real, no-traces-of-sadness smile Jason’s seen in a long time.

The sun is beginning to set over New Rome, casting shadows over the two of them.

Nico breaks the silence, “I’ll… I’ll tell you next time, okay?”

Jason nods, shooting him a grin, “Thanks.”

 

Nico does tell him next time, handing him a note with a stick-figure drawing of Hades telling him sternly that he ‘needs help clearing out some immortal poisonous snakes that have somehow gotten into Persephone’s garden’- with a completely straight face, he might add- for good measure. Jason hangs it up in the Zeus cabin the next time he visits.

The short-notice visits to the Underworld come less and less.

Nico has yet to go back to Camp Half-Blood though.

 

 

 

It comes as a surprise to their friends, Chiron, the campers, Nico, even they themselves, when Jason and Piper decide to rent an apartment together.

It’s a small little thing, with two bedrooms and a nice kitchen and a tiny balcony. But the price is good, and it’s close enough to Camp Half-Blood that they can easily re-stock their ambrosia and nectar supply.

It comes as a surprise, mostly to Nico, when a few weeks in they offer it to him as a place to stay for a while (he was getting weary of Camp Jupiter and all the people there, and adamantly refused to return to Camp Half-Blood).

Nico, being Nico, turns down their offer at first, claiming he doesn’t want to be a burden, doesn’t want to get in the way or intrude on their time together. Jason and Piper, being Jason and Piper, practically force him into coming anyways.

And it works surprisingly well for a little while.

Piper gets a part time job as a waitress in a cute little café downtown. Jason teaches camp classes a few times a week, with Nico using his trusty shadow-travel when they’re scheduled at Camp Jupiter. Nico does… whatever it is he does when he’s out and about- running errands for the lord of the dead, hunting monsters, getting groceries. He’ll stay out for a night or two, go to the Underworld for a few days, claim this is his last night and they’ll want him out of there soon and he’s leaving tomorrow, but he always finds his way back eventually.

It’s odd, at first. For all of them. Jason’s not used to having so much free time, Piper’s not used to serving self-righteous college kids coffee, Nico’s not used to be around people period, much less _living_ with them. He’s also not quite sure what it is he’s doing here, he’s said plenty of times. He’s not quite sure why they, Piper especially, want him anywhere near here. He sleeps on the couch (even though they insist he sleep on the bed in the second bedroom) until he falls asleep at the table one night and wakes up in said second bedroom. They don’t talk about it again, and he slowly begins sleeping there regularly.

 

Sleeping though- it’s kind of a rocky subject. Demigods all have nightmares; it’s literally in their blood. They get worse for everyone after the war. It’s inevitable. They’ve all gone through hell. But see, not everyone has gone through _hell_. _Hell,_ Jason’s learned, leaves its mark a little deeper.

 

He wakes up to screaming. An earsplitting, terrified scream, the kind that hurts a little to hear, the kind that stops your heart for a minute when you realize it’s someone you know.

Jason sits straight up in bed, glancing over to see Piper doing the same. They make eye contact for a second and then Jason’s scrambling out of bed, throwing open the bedroom door and turning sharply to open the one next door to it. The first time this happened, the two of them had burst into Nico’s room with their weapons draw, fully prepared to turn whatever monster that had gotten in their house to dust. (Later that night they’d had to explain to a very tired landlady and very grumpy upstairs neighbors that no, someone was not being murdered). This time though, he knows better.

Nico’s thrashing on the bed when he opens the door, blanket twisted around him and hair covering his face. The screaming had died down, replaced by ragged breaths and whimpers and- _gods._ Jason surges forward, taking a thin wrist in one hand and holding up his other to catch the fist that comes up to greet him. Another lesson learned the hard way.

“No no no get off, get off get off get off, please, leave me alone, get off let go get off” words spill from Nico’s mouth like a mantra, his eyes still shut tight, eyebrows drawn up in a panic, bits and pieces of broken Italian and sobs finding their way in.

“Nico,” he says, calmly, “Nico, wake up. Look at me. _Nico,”_

Somewhere along the line the son of Hades blinks awake, no less afraid and putting up no less of a fight. When Jason sees as much, he starts counting. Backwards from a hundred- one of the best ways to calm him down, he’s learned. Nico had mentioned his mom doing something similar when he was younger.

On good nights, he’ll begin to count with him around 70. On bad nights, around 30. There are some nights Jason has to start from the top again before Nico pulls himself out of his mind enough to focus on the numbers. Nights like that scare Jason the most. Sometimes, Piper is able to calm him down with her charmspeak, or counts along with them. She doesn’t do it very often though; Nico still hates showing weakness around her, and she respects his boundaries.

The first time that happened, when Nico finally came to, he was horrified. He apologized profusely, apologized for waking them up and being weak and letting them see him like that and every other thing he could think of to apologize for. He apologized to Piper for screwing up her sleep schedule, locked himself in his room for three days, and probably would’ve disappeared if they hadn’t dragged him out and convinced him it was _fine, gods, it doesn’t make you weak, you don’t have to do everything on your own._

Tonight he starts counting around the 50 or so mark. Nothing more than a whisper at first, voice raspy and sore from yelling, eyes trained on something Jason can’t see. Around 20, he finally makes eye contact with him- unsure, disoriented, scared eye contact. By the time they reach zero, he’s stopped fighting, Jason has released his grip, and the familiar look of shame is back.

“I’m sorry,” he says, a few moments later.

“It’s fine,” Jason breathes, “you’re fine.”

“But I’m- I woke you up and-“

“I was already up,” Jason says, “needed water anyways,”

It’s a lie and they both know it, but the shame drops into resignation and Nico nods.

“You should go back to sleep,”

Jason shakes his head, “Not until you do,”

He looks hesitant. Jason runs a hand through a rebellious strand of hair sticking straight up from Nico’s head.

“Go back to sleep,” he murmurs, sliding off the bed and landing lightly on his knees, his hand still fiddling with Nico’s run away hair. “I’ll be right here,”

For a moment, he wonders if he’s over stepped his boundaries; Nico is stone still under his blankets, expression conflicted. He takes a shaky breath and nods a few tense moments later.

“I… okay. Yeah, I’ll… okay.” He glances up at Jason again, “But if I wake you up again, it’s your own fault,”

Jason offers a tired smile. Nico threatening him so soon after waking up is a good sign.

“I take full responsibility,” he says softly.

Moments later, he’s sitting next to a very asleep son of Hades.

He looks much younger when he sleeps- or maybe he just looks his age, without all the worry and stress and scowls. Like this, Jason can almost imagine how he must have been when he was younger- happy, energetic, full of questions (he’s heard enough stories- a lot of them embarrassing ones Nico tries to stop Percy and Annabeth and sometimes even Grover from telling- to have a vague picture; he doesn’t like to dwell on everything that’s happened to erase that happy little kid). His hair sticks up in disarray, even messier than it is during the day (which makes Jason wonder if Nico actually does try to comb some of it down). His mouth is partially open, his breath coming in soft huffs and-

And Jason needs to stop right there and get out of the room before he starts describing his goddamn skin because _no one should be allowed to have skin that soft?_ And wait he actually reached out and _touched it,_ and he was still running his hands through his (arguably equally as soft) hair, he is _very_ glad Nico is not awake right now- he doubts he would appreciate the gesture.

“Is he alright?” Piper asks when he makes it back to their room. She’s tired, and very worried. He wonders when she started caring so much about Nico di Angelo. He wonders the same about himself, and imagines Piper is asking herself too.

“As alright as he can be,” he responds, and Piper nods. There’s really nothing else to say about it.

 

 

 

“No.”

“Nico-“

“No way.”

“Come on, you have to-“

“No I don’t. I didn’t wanna go last year and I sure as hell don’t wanna go this year.”

“Nico-“

“Besides, I haven’t gone for like seventy years and I’m doing perfectly fine.”

“Most of that time was spent in a casino though,”

“And I’m _still_ perfectly fine. If I want to know something, I can go to the library. Or ask Annabeth. Or use that fancy computer thing-“

“Google?”

“Yeah, that. See? I’m fully equipped.”

Jason watches the battle unfolding before him with amusement- Piper’s will against Nico’s stubbornness. See, Piper- along with Hazel, Reyna, and basically the rest of everyone they knew (including Jason, but he would never admit that to Nico- he doesn’t want any perfectly crafted glares pointed at him)- conjured up the idea that Nico- expert swordsman, son of Hades, five feet and three inches of intimidation Nico- should go to school.

High school.

With other mortal children his age, who do not fight monsters in their daily lives and are probably worried more about tests or gossip than survival.

You see the problem.

“Yeah, sure, fully equipped. But what about finding a job? What about going to college?”

Nico crosses his arms, “I don’t want to-“

Piper glares. “Do you want to bounce between camps for the rest of your life?”

“What? No, but-“

“Do you want to keep running errands for your father, then?”

 _“No,_ I-“

“Then you’re going to school,” she declares, “You can’t get anywhere without going to school first.”

Nico’s eyes narrow into a glare that would intimidate most people. But Piper is mostly immune to them by now; it’s a skill that comes with experience.

“What are you trying to say about me?”

Piper sighs in exasperation, “Nothing about _you._ About your _future.”_

Nico scoffs, “What are you, my _mom?”_ An annoyingly childish side of him that only comes out in a loosing argument.

“No. But you need to start thinking about where you’re going. You can’t just wander around for the rest of your life, dammit.” Jason hasn’t heard her set on something so strongly in a long time, “I’d say it’s a miracle you’ve made it this far.”

“I’d say so too. But you know why I’ve _‘wandered around’_ for so long? Because that’s the only way I could _live_.” His hands close into fists at his sides. Jason also hasn’t heard Nico this angry in a long time. “People don’t _want_ me in their little worlds. So excuse me for not suddenly wanting to join them.”

Piper’s voice drops, eyebrows drawn together in sympathy, “You don’t have to live like that, Nico.”

Nico laughs humorlessly, “Really? What’s gonna happen when you guys get tired of me? I don’t want to live at _camp.”_

“And you don’t have to.” Piper insists- almost desperately at this point, “But whether you like it or not, you have people at both camps that care about you. They won’t let you live your life alone.”

Nico’s face curls into a scowl, “Maybe I _want_ to be alone.”

Piper’s voice is dangerously low as she takes a step forward, “If you wanted that, if you _really_ wanted that, you would’ve left a long time ago.” She says simply.

Nico’s at a loss. The room falls silent. Jason’s pretty sure if he moves at all, it’ll echo.

“Do you want me to leave?” Nico asks, his voice surprisingly small.

Piper shakes her head, a sad smile growing on her face. “No, Nico. I don’t want you to leave. Neither of us want you to leave. We just want you to have _opportunities_ \- in the world, in your life. It’s _your_ life. You don’t have to live it in the shadows.”

Nico stares at the ground, seemingly lost in thought. “But it won’t matter.” He says finally,” People don’t-"

“Screw what people think.” Piper cuts in sharply. She puts her hands firmly on Nico’s shoulders- and he doesn’t flinch, “Do this for _you_ , Nico.”

“I…” he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath, “Fine.”

 

So the fearsome Nico di Angelo braves the halls of high school. The most they can convince him to agree to is a few times a week- a special program type thing, that basically happened with a lot of meddling, a lot of Mist, a lot of charmspeak, and a lot of forging of records (they realize a bit too late that Nico pretty much doesn’t exist, according to the files of the US government).

 

 

 

“Nico shut it, I’m trying to talk!”

“Gimme the Cheetos, Grace,”

A month or so later, the two of them are sitting in Jason’s bedroom. It’s not particularly big, and not particularly small either- bigger than the second bedroom (Nico’s bedroom, no mater how much he tries to deny it- all his stuff’s in there: his clothes, the clothes they bought him, the brand new aviator jacket Hazel got him to replace his old one, his sword, the Mythomagic cards he thinks no one knows about, the few books Annabeth gave him, and a hell of a lot of various school supplies he’s gathered). It’s dark outside; the stars are visible through the little window on the far end of the wall.

Jason’s stretched out on the comfortable ‘swivel-y chair’, as Piper calls it, of the small desk in the corner. Nico’s on the bed, papers and pencils and a calculator spread out around him. Homework. Poor guy.

“Get your own Cheetos, di Angelo,”

“You took the last bag!”

He can hear Piper laughing over the phone he’s holding in his hand. Not really supposed to have it, but this isn’t camp grounds.

“Tuff luck,” he teases, “Now be quiet and do your homework,”

Nico’s eyes narrow, only semi-dangerously, “Gimme the goddamn Cheetos. I will not hesitate to call up help,”

“I suggest you hand them over, Jason,” Piper says playfully, “I don’t want the place full of zombies when I get back,”

Piper, Annabeth, Reyna, and Hazel had decided to take a vacation of sorts. Not a quest, really. More like some monsters wreaking havoc in a pretty nice part of the world- they were, of course, nothing more than dust by now, but the girls were gladly taking advantage of the situation. They planned on staying for another week or two, relaxing, in a boy-free environment. Female bonding. Jason was glad for them; they all deserved some time off.

“Fine, fine,” Jason grumbles, “Take your stupid Cheetos,” he tosses them over to a very unprepared Nico, who catches them with his face. A year or two ago, Jason would be cowering in a corner right about now, praying to the gods to spare him from the son of Hades’ wrath. But now all he does now is shrug apologetically at Nico’s glare. The kid took his Cheetos; it was karma.

He hears the pop of the bag being opened and turns his attention back to his conversation. Nico, on the other hand, turns (a lot less enthusiastically) back to his work. A few minutes pass in content silence, interrupted only by the crunch of Cheetos.

“Piper says hi,” Jason calls.

“Tell Piper I say hi back,” Nico replies, not looking up from his book.

“Nico says hi back,”

A few seconds of quiet; Nico flips a page.

“Piper says Hazel says hi,”

Nico looks up briefly this time at the mention of Hazel’s name. “Tell her to tell Hazel I say hi back,”

“He said to tell Hazel he says hi back,”

A few more seconds.

“Piper says- gods, just take the phone,” he says, tossing it to Nico in exasperation. To his relief, Nico catches it.

“Piper, hey. How’ve you been?”

There’s a pause, and Jason hears the faint sound of Piper’s voice through the phone Nico isn’t quite holding close enough to his ear. Electronics, with the exception of arcade games, aren’t exactly his strong suit.

“I’ve been fine. Pretty busy too, I guess,” Nico says a moment later.

It’s nice how comfortable Nico is, talking with Piper. There’s no stiffness in his shoulders, no anxious picking at his clothes, no silent plea to take the phone back, just friendly replies and seeming relief in having an excuse to take a break. He continues like that for a while, talking in between pauses, smiling occasionally, shifting his weight on the bed. Jason finds himself just _watching._

“ _Chemistry.”_ Nico makes a face at his book, “I don’t understand the importance of this; it’s not like I’m gonna need to know the chemical compound of salt in the near future,”

A half- hearted frown.

“How’s Hazel?”

A slight upturn of lips, wiped away quickly by the ‘overprotective sibling’ look Jason’s seen a lot of.

“If you don’t make sure she goes to bed right now, I’ll go over there and do it myself,”

A satisfactory nod.

“You guys are going through Venice again, right?”

A shift in weight again; he leans forward on the bed excitedly.

“There’s this little shaved ice place I can give you directions to. My mom used to take us there every few weeks; I’m surprised it’s still standing after all this time. Tell them _I_ sent you and you’ll get a discount,”

About ten minutes later the phone is relinquished back to Jason.

“Jeez,” Piper says once he has the phone to his ear again, “Nico can come _with_ us next time, he’s an expert on sight-seeing,”

“Well, he _has_ been all over the world, right?”

“I say he takes all of us with him next time. Traveling in a giant warship to save the world doesn’t really count as vacation time,”

Jason laughs, “I’ll convince him to,”

He can practically hear the smile on Piper’s face across the line.

“The break-up with Will hit Nico pretty hard.” Piper’s voice is softer now, “He’s doing a lot better,”

Jason looks over to the bed where Nico is sitting, bent over his book. His Italian side comes out a lot when he studies- he’s whispering the words under his breath, jerking his free hand this way and that to annunciate them, and tapping his pencil against the edge of the book with the other. He looks not exactly relaxed, but at home. He looks like he fits into Jason and Piper’s little apartment perfectly, like he belongs there, and the thought makes Jason unreasonably happy.

“Yeah,” he agrees, “He is.”

“You are too,” she says after a moment.

Jason blinks, confused, “What?”

“A few months ago you were as moody as he was, just more subtle,” she states, “You were really worried about him.”

Jason shrugs, though he doesn’t disagree. “We all were,”

“Yeah, but I think _you_ were more worried about Nico’s wellbeing than Nico was. You really helped him, Jason. I’m glad he has you,”

There’s something in Piper’s tone that makes him pause, but he brushes it off.

“Yeah. He deserves someone, y’know?” he lowers his voice a bit; he doubts Nico would appreciate anything he could interpret as pity, “You helped just as much as I did. Hades, you even got him to go to _school,_ something I _never_ thought I’d see. I’m glad he has all of us.”

“So am I,” Piper agrees, a soft tone of care to her voice.

“ _So,”_ he continues, “about Italy: you think you could send me a souvenir? I’m thinking something big to hang up on the wall,”

 

Nico gets an A on his chemistry test 

They get ice cream as a reward and Jason is very pleased to see Nico proud of himself.

 

-:- 

 

Nico is the only one home when Piper gets back.

She’s exhausted, hungry, tired, but very content- and ready to devour everything they have in the kitchen and sleep for a few days.

She unlocks the door and stumbles in with her heavy suitcase to find the couch occupied by a surprisingly focused Nico di Angelo. He looks up from his book at the sound of the door and his face lights up.

“Piper,” he greets, standing up and stretching his arms.

“Nico,” she greets back with a tired smile. She glances around, seeing no signs of her boyfriend.

“Jason’s at camp,” Nico says, answering her unspoken question, “He’s sad he couldn’t be here when you got back, but duty calls,”

Piper nods, shrugging off her coat and dropping it over the back of the couch. She sees Nico heading for the kitchen, so naturally, she follows- slower, though. She’s preoccupied with looking over everything; it feels like forever since she left their little apartment. Even if it was only a few weeks, she’d missed the feeling of it, of being somewhere you knew was your home.

By the time she reaches the kitchen, the microwave is beeping, pulling her out of her daze. Nico pulls out a big bowl of soup- not burned, she notices proudly. The first time he tried to use a microwave the popcorn had exploded.

“Figured you might be hungry,” he says, placing the bowl carefully on the table and pulling a spoon out of the silverware drawer to go along with it, “So I saved you some dinner,”

She blinks. It’s a surprisingly thoughtful thing to do. She’d honestly expect this more from Jason than from Nico. She’s actually pretty… touched.

Probably taking her silence as disapproval, Nico takes a step back. “We have a bunch of other stuff too though, if you want. It’s a few hours old, so it’s probably not very good anyway,”

She quickly shakes her head, sitting down heavily in the chair in front of the food, “No I… thanks, Nico.” She smiles gratefully, “It smells amazing,”

Nico smiles back, looking very relieved. “You’re welcome,”

It tastes as amazing as it smells, and she has to tell herself and her stomach not to down it all right there.

“How’d your chemistry test go?” she asks, mainly to slow herself down.

Nico glances up, looking at her for a moment like he’s surprised she remembered. She doesn’t know why that thought bothers her.

“Pretty well,” he says after a moment, “I got an A actually,”

“Nice!” she grins, “I definitely wasn’t that good when I was your age. You at least did something to celebrate it right?”

Nico nods, “Ice cream,”

“Sorry I missed it,”

“It wasn’t anything special,” Nico shrugs, “Jason did drop his though,”

Piper laughs, “I’m not surprised,”

The two of them drift off into a comfortable silence. Piper takes a few more bites of soup.

Nico’s voice is soft and hesitant when he speaks next, “Hey, Piper?”

Piper swallows her soup and looks up. “Yeah?”

The son of Hades bites his lip, opening his mouth, shutting it, and drawing in a quick breath. “Why am I here?”

Piper barely catches it, it’s spoken so quietly.

“What’d you mean?”

Nico shrugs, knitting his fingers together, “Why do you… why do you want me here? I mean… wouldn’t you rather have Jason to yourself? Be alone with him? Aren’t I intruding?”

Piper puts her spoon down, because wow, he does have a pretty good point. Logically, she _should_ want that, should want to live exclusively with Jason, should want to kiss him every morning (which she does do) and greet him every night (which she also does). She should want Nico out of there as soon as possible, right?

But they had invited him into their home. Maybe not indefinitely, but they were the ones that offered it to him. And somehow, Piper couldn’t really picture their apartment without Nico. He just… fit in. He was a part of it, just as much as they were. She wonders how she should feel about that.

“You live here,” she says finally.

“What?”

“This where you live. It’s your home too, Nico.”

The look on his face- a raw mixture of surprise and confusion and hope- is enough to clear any doubt from her mind.

“But I… don’t even help pay the rent,”

She can’t help but grin at that, “You’re in high school, dork. Paying the rent is our job; learning is yours,”

 

 

 

“Nico’s still living with you guys?” Percy’s naturally loud voice sounds through the Iris message, echoing though the apartment.

“Yeah,” Piper replies, shifting her weight on the new fluffy chair they’d bought recently.

“How does that work exactly?”

Piper raises an eyebrow. “How does what work?”

“Y’know… living with him. I’m surprised you all haven’t driven each other crazy,”

“Oh, I’m plenty crazy,” Nico cuts in, stepping into the room and dropping his backpack on the floor. “That’s the only reason I’m still here,”

“Welcome home, Nico,” Piper calls over her shoulder.

He offers a wave in return.

“How was school?” Percy questions through the mist.

“ _Riveting,”_ Nico replies flatly, before escaping into the kitchen.

Percy laughs, “He’s as cheerful as always,”

“It’s one of his best qualities,” Piper agrees.

“So… still living with you,” Percy repeats, “Huh.”

“Why are you so interested in it?”

“Is it really that hard to believe I’m just curious?” Percy asked, in an over-exaggerated attempt to sound innocent.

The look Piper gives him tells him that yes; it is that hard to believe.

Percy sighs.

“We all made bets on how long the whole thing’ll last. So far, I’m winning.”

 

 

 

The first time Piper sees it, she isn’t sure what it is.

Nico’s off to the Underworld again, ready to skewer some monsters or break up a ghost argument or whatever it is the lord of the dead has him do down there. Except he’ll be gone a bit longer than usual this time- “Two weeks,” he says with a shrug, “Maybe two and a half,”

“We could go with you,” she offers.

He looks at her for a moment, considering it, before shaking his head. “I’m not sure what it is I’ll be up against. Besides, the Underworld isn’t the most cheerful place,”

“Excuses,” Jason chides, coming in from the kitchen with a small knapsack in his hand. He hands it to Nico, who takes one look at the contents and tries to hand it back. Piper leans over to peek in; it’s full of food, a few water bottles, and some ambrosia.

“I don’t need-“

“Take it.” Jason commands.

“But you guys need-“

“Take it,” Piper adds.

Nico sighs, throwing the bag over his shoulder and opening the front door. “Fine. If it’ll get you to back off,”

Then suddenly, before anyone really knows what’s happening, Nico’s hand is fisted in Jason’s shirt, pulling him down to his level and he leans forward, placing a tiny kiss on Jason’s cheek.

There’s a moment of silence.

Nico glances at Jason and then at Piper and then, apparently, realizes what he did.

“Don’t misunderstand!” he says hurriedly, holding his arms out in front of him, “In Italy, it’s just- it’s a common way of saying goodbye- I do it with Hazel all the time, I just- it was just- I wasn’t thinking I’m…sorry,”

Piper’s seen both Nico and Hazel part with kisses on the cheek or forehead, so she can’t say she hasn’t seen the son of Hades be _affectionate_ before. But that was with the person he was closest to, the only one he was comfortable being himself around at first. And this was with… well, she supposes, probably the second person he’s closest to. Which probably makes her the third, she realizes with a start.

The incredulous (and slightly flustered) look on Jason’s face, mixed with Nico’s burning embarrassment is too much. Piper can’t help the giggle that slips out. Or the ones that follow. So really, she kind of deserves the half-hearted glare she gets. Nico, obviously, does not find this funny.

She manages to stop herself when she remembers she might offend him, taking a deep breath.

“Sorry, I just…” she says finally, grinning at the son of Hades, “Do I get one too?”

If he wasn’t embarrassed enough before, he certainly is now. The glare is thrown off a bit by the light color in his cheeks, and he looks like he could very well murder her, but it’s worth it. She’s _not_ making fun of him, and she hopes she doesn’t actually make him angry, but this is a side of him she’s never seen before.

Surprising all of them for the second time in under five minutes, Nico marches forward, stands on his toes, looks her determinately in the eye, and gives her a brief peck right in the middle of her cheek. He then takes a step back, looking anywhere but at her, and swivels around to face the door.

“I’ll see you guys in a week or two,” he mumbles quickly.

And with that, the door slams shut and they hear the sound of his footsteps disappear.

Jason reaches up and touches his cheek, glancing at her with surprise still written across his face. She thinks she probably has the same look on her own.

“Well,” she says finally, breaking the silence, “That was interesting,”

 

 

He avoids both of them like the plague when he gets back. Which is kind of hard to do in an apartment so small. But somehow, he finds a way.

When he does get stuck in the same room with one of them, he barely looks them in the eye and doesn’t say more than a few words.

 

The next time she sees it, she wants to hit herself for not making the connection sooner. She sees it in their glances. In the way Jason stares at Nico with concern, and a little bit of hurt, in his eyes from across the room, the fondness in the way he talks about him. In the way Nico holds his gaze on Jason a little too long, the way he tends to look away when he and Piper hold hands or exchange kisses.

She hears it in the silence. Nico’s avoidance of them is affecting Jason more than he’ll let on- and probably more than Nico will let on either. More than she lets on. It hangs over the apartment like a rain cloud. The conversation the two of them do exchange is tense and strained.

She feels it in the air. She’s a daughter of love; she can sense romantic attraction. Especially when it’s been growing under her nose for a while.

 

“Hey, Jason,” they’re alone in the apartment; Nico’s out having a _lovely_ day at school. “How do you… _feel_ about Nico?”

Jason chokes on his water. Probably should’ve waited till he’d set the bottle down.

“What?” he croaks.

“You know what I mean.”

He glances around nervously. “I… don’t think I do, actually,”

“Jason,”

He frowns, glancing up at her guiltily, “I love you,”

Piper blinks. She gives a small smile, “I love you too. But that’s not what this is about.”

“There is no ‘ _this’_.” Jason sighs, his voice heavy and slightly bitter with disappointment, “You heard what he said- it was the kind of kiss he gives to Hazel. I’m like… I’m like a brother to him, that’s all.”

It’s Piper’s turn to sigh, “ _Gods_ , Jason, do you not see the way he _looks_ at you?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“ _Unbelievable,”_ she mutters, bringing her hands to her temples.

She locks her eyes on the floor for a moment, before raising her head to meet his gaze again, “I think you should tell him.”

Jason sputters- thank the gods he hadn’t decided to take another drink. _“What?”_

“I think you should tell him,” she repeats, slower this time.

“But… no. I… I can’t,” he says firmly, “I’ll scare him off- it’s taken _so long_ to get him to trust us, and I’ll scare him off.”

She doesn’t fail to notice how he says _‘us’_ instead of _‘me’._

“Maybe.” She agrees, “But you never know until you try. And you _\- we-_ can’t keep living like this,” she gestures vaguely to the space around them. To the silence and the lack of Nico.

“How are you so okay with this?” he asks, as if just remembering he’s discussing his crush with his very powerful girlfriend.

She shrugs, thinking it over for a moment. “Well, we’re Greek,” she decides. “They had all sorts of weird relationships,” her cheeky grin fades into a wistful smile, “And he deserves someone… he deserves this. He just… he belongs here, you know?”

Jason nods, “I just don’t know if he knows.”

 

 

 

It’s a week or so later, when the three of them are spread out on the couch- Nico on the edge, as far away from them as possible- watching their traditional late-night sit-coms, when they find out whether or not he knows.

“We need to talk,” Piper says sternly, turning off the T.V. with an ominous click.

Nico is tense, wound up tight like a bowstring and if they say the wrong thing he may snap.

“I’ll have my stuff packed by tomorrow,” he mutters, glaring at the ground.

“What?” Piper asks.

“You’re kicking me out, right? After… the other day. You’re kicking me out.” He says it so certainly it hurts a little.

“No. No, we’re not kicking you out.” Jason says slowly, “Why would we-?”

“You know why,” Nico interrupts, still looking anywhere but at them. “That’s what started this whole thing. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Piper insists.

Nico still hasn’t lifted his eyes; his hands are fiddling with his ring, twisting it anxiously, “Then what do you wanna talk about?”

Now comes the hard part. They’re kind of at a loss. She didn’t really think they’d get this far.

Jason beats her to the punch though. He slides carefully down the couch, coming to a rest a few inches away from Nico. Calm, collected.

Nico, on the other hand, looks anything but. His eyes won’t stay in one place for more than a few seconds, and he keeps looking hopelessly at the exits.  

“I need you to trust me on this, okay?” Jason says softly.

“W-what?”

“Don’t freak out.” Jason’s voice drops as he leans in- very very slowly, “Just trust me.”

Before Nico has time to react, Jason’s hands are cupping his face and chapped lips are pressed against his. It’s a brief kiss, chaste- stiff, on Nico’s part. He doesn’t seem to know where to put his hands, and he’s really not given enough time to decide.

Jason pulls back, looking all sorts of nervous and hopeful and Nico is frozen in place- shocked, embarrassed. His eyes dart from Jason to Piper to the window and back again. Piper worries for a moment that he might fade into the shadows right there.

He inhales sharply, “What was,” his voice breaks, “What was that?”

Jason offers a shaky smile, “What we wanted to talk about?”

“What?” he chokes out again- it seems to be the extent of his vocabulary at the moment.

Piper takes that as her cue to jump in. “What he means,” she says slowly, pushing off the couch and sitting on the floor in front of them, “Is that we wanted to… clear the air,”

“Clear the air?” he repeats, voice high.

“We wanted to,” she pauses, “We wanted to know where we all stand,”

“Where we all _stand?”_ he echoes after her again.

He jumps when he feels Jason’s hand brush against his own, interlocking their fingers (slowly, giving him the opportunity to pull away if he wants to; he doesn’t).

“And…” he meets Piper’s eyes, “You’re okay with this?”

She nods, “The question is, are _you_ okay with this?”

Nico blinks incredulously. Eyes wide, eyebrows scrunched together- it should be impossible for someone to look so upset and so innocent at the same time.

“I… I mean…” Nico gulps, looking down at he and Jason’s hands. Piper’s hand joins them, resting softly on top.

 _“How_ are you okay with this?” he finally manages.

Jason grins, “We’re Greek,” he says, repeating Piper’s words.

“But I…” his eyes drop uncertainly.

“Nico,” Pipers murmurs, “this is your home too.”

Nico exhales shakily, closing his eyes, “You guys are crazy.”

Their faces fall; Nico looks up at them.

“But…” he takes a deep breath, and nods, “Yeah. O-okay, I… yeah.”

There’s a pause, before a smile splits slowly across Jason’s face. “Yeah?”

Nico returns it the best he can, “Yeah,”

Jason laughs, wrapping his arms around both of them and pulling them together in a hug that’s probably only comfortable for him, and Piper can’t help but smile too.

 

 

 

Yeah, it ‘s a little unorthodox. It’s confusing sometimes. It’s difficult to explain. But they make it work.

Mornings are especially hectic. Nico will have a cup of coffee already in his hand while he makes another for whoever wants one. Jason won’t put his tie on right. Piper will be trying not to burn the toast she’s trying to make or the eggs she’s trying to scramble. Sometimes they don’t have breakfast at all. A lot of the time, Nico is gone before it’s done, throwing out quick goodbyes. Piper and Jason will have thirty minutes or so alone before her shift starts. He’ll kiss her goodbye, she’ll tell him to give her kiss to Nico the next time he sees him. He’ll do just that, and Nico will either hit him half-heartedly or give one in return.

Jason and Piper still share a bed- for one thing, there are only two beds in the apartment, and they wouldn’t not want to anyways. Sometimes Nico will slip in halfway through the night, burrowing in between the two of them. He likes the sound of their heartbeats, she’s learned somewhere along the way. It lets him know that this is real, that they’re right there and they’re all alive.

They argue sometimes. It’s natural, healthy. She’d be worried if they _didn’t_ argue. They’ll yell between each other, Nico will lock himself in his room (it’s more of a guest bedroom at this point, but he goes there when he wants to be alone) or disappear, Jason will storm out the front door or cuddle whoever he’s not fighting with aggressively, Piper will take a walk or sulk a little or rant to Hazel or Annabeth via Iris message. But they always work it out eventually.

They eventually get Nico to drop in at Camp Half-Blood. Things are awkward for a little while. The Apollo kids step out of their way like they're afraid Nico might unleash terror on them. It takes a while, but he and Will slowly get back on friendly terms. The incredulous look he gives when Nico sits on Jason's lap during the campfire that night is priceless. 

Yeah, it’s unorthodox. It’s confusing. It’s difficult to explain. But they’re happy.

No, things don’t work out with Will.

But Jason is warm and Piper is gentle and Nico is learning how to trust and they’re happy. 

And really, that’s all any of them could ask for.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally gonna be a short 'jason helps nico get over will' thing but ??? it went it's own way??? 
> 
> i also didn't just wanna conveniently get rid of piper, and i really like their whole dynamic. 
> 
> (it's set a year or two after the series ends, hence the long time nico and will had a thing going on, which i think gives him a little while to open up a bit more- so he interacts more easily with everyone)
> 
> i honestly just really like this pairing; jason/piper is 100% canon, they both love each other, and i feel like piper would be willing to open their relationship up a little, especially if she gets to know/care about nico; she loves jason enough to let him love both of them.
> 
> also i kept accidentally switching povs again.


End file.
